Bow Ties: Are They Cool?

I remember the first time I dove into the realm of wearing a bow tie over a regular tie. It was my senior year at Wilkes University in lovely Wilkes-Barre, PA. I was about to present my senior capstone project on standup comedy. I put my light blue dress shirt on and there it was, a new red bow tie. Naturally I put it on.

My presentation went off without a hitch. I got my grade back and it was an amazing score. At the bottom of the grading sheet my professor had wrote “You look like an ice cream delivery guy.” I knew from then on I wouldn’t be wearing regular ties anymore.

The bow tie’s original function was to actually tie a dress shirt together at the top back in the day. I’m guessing buttons weren’t exactly trustworthy in the 1800’s. The bow tie for me has become a trademark.

Learning to tie the actual bow tie is not as hard as one would think. After a few hours of YouTube and practice I had the process down to a science. I can now tie one pretty efficiently and quickly.

Some may say I look ridiculous wearing a bow tie, and those people are right. A bow tie is a great form of self expression. I plan on wearing a snowman printed bow tie for our company Christmas party. I believe the bow tie gives me a sense of dignity and “well dressedness.” I love a good bow tie.

It’s also an amazing ice breaker at weddings or function. Nine times out of ten I am the only one with the courage to rock a bow tie, so people naturally want to come talk to me. Instead of saying “come here often,” people come to me and ask “are you insane?” The bow tie works like a charm.

The bow tie also allows me to not worry about how long my regular tie is. I have a little bit of an obstacle (a stomach) that follows me around. There is nothing worse than a tie that is too short, the bow tie allows me to avoid worrying about length.

My favorite part about wearing a bow tie comes at the end of the night. I can untie the bow tie and look like the Piano Man himself: Billy Joel.